The Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI) has returned to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. Its evidence demonstrates that online antisemitism has become more persistent, more violent, and increasingly laundered through what often presents as legitimate political discourse.
OHPI CEO Dr Andre Oboler appeared before the Commission on Wednesday during its third block of public hearings, which is focused on the treatment of Jewish people in mainstream and social media. The third public hearing block is being held in Sydney from 29 June to 10 July 2026. The ABC and SBS are also scheduled to appear, along with Jewish Australians who have experienced online hate
Dr Oboler told the Commission that OHPI’s monitoring had found major differences in how platforms respond when antisemitic and extremist content is reported. In one OHPI sample, TikTok removed 64 per cent of more than 400 reported videos, Meta removed 54 per cent of 950 reported Facebook posts, X removed 24 per cent of 1,700 reported posts, and Reddit removed 17 per cent of more than 1,000 reported posts.
He said OHPI had been able to get antisemitic and extremist content removed from some platforms, while others were far less responsive. Referring to X, formerly Twitter, Dr Oboler said: “X was generally difficult to work with, particularly from Australia.”
X has not responded to repeated requests for engagement from the Royal Commission. Dr Oboler said it had been several years since OHPI had meaningful contact with the platform.
OHPI’s evidence also pointed to a sharp rise in antisemitic material after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza. OHPI recorded a “five-fold” increase in antisemitic content online, with conflict involving Iran causing “re-energisation” of antisemitic content across platforms.
Speaking outside the inquiry, he said OHPI had printed a sample of the material in “two giant folders of hate” and provided it to the Commission as part of his expert evidence.
“It’s all sorts of content, some of it quite violent,” Dr Oboler said.
The Commission also heard that antisemitic content is often framed in ways that avoid platform moderation systems. Dr Oboler said some platforms could identify older antisemitic tropes, but struggled when hate was expressed through political language.
“The minute there’s any political discussion around it they seem to give it a free pass, so we have content there that is extremely antisemitic using Zionist as a code word, but just isn’t being dealt with,” he said.
Dr Oboler told the Commission that OHPI’s research found a correlation between pro-Palestine activism and harmful rhetoric, while stressing that the activism itself was not inherently antisemitic.
“I’m not saying that all those activities are anti-Semitic – far from it,” Dr Oboler said.
“But there is a segment of anti-Semitism that goes on the bandwagon with that [activism] – and when there’s less activism, there’s therefore obviously less opportunity for that anti-Semitism to rise.”
Dr Oboler also addressed the impact of Elon Musk’s 2022 purchase of X. He said the takeover resulted in almost 80 per cent of trust and safety staff being fired, a shift towards an “absolute free speech” approach, and previously banned users being allowed back onto the platform.
The Tackling Hate Lab also called for a permanent observatory of hate covering online and offline hate targeting all communities, saying Australia needs to move from reacting to crises towards preventing harm. (The Herald)
Media Coverage
ABC News | Trillionaire Elon Musk partly to blame for anti-Jewish hatred on X, royal commission hears
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